Publication Order of Standalone Novels

A Swiss author, Joel Dicker has come an extremely long way in a very short amount of time, as he’s managed to build a very influential and highly successful writing career. Gaining the respect and recognition of both his peers and contemporaries, he’s gotten himself a career that’s successful not just critically, but commercially as well. With his books being translated into various languages, he’s now reaching a worldwide audience on a previously unprecedented scale.

Early and Personal Life

Born in the city of Geneva in Switzerland, Joel Dicker was born on the 16th of June, 1985, as he grew up in the city taking in the sights and sounds of the city. Gaining a passion for both reading and writing at a very young age, he was able to build his voice over the years, working upon his experience and ideas. This all allowed him to become the writer that he currently is today, with his career built not just on style, but on the characters within as well, something which he always had an eye for growing up.

Educated in Geneva he attended a series of schools, continually working on and developing his voice for his writing career that was soon to follow. Attending the Cours Florent academy of higher learning at the age of nineteen he stayed for one year, before moving back to gain a masters in law from the University of Geneva. All this helped to give him a firmer understanding of his craft, as the academia enabled him to work on his style and form, giving him a much clearer and coherent voice.

He then soon went on to become an international bestseller after winning an award for his work at the young age of twenty-five, thus securing his name. With a lot more books to write in the near future, he still has a lot more potential to grow and expand in future, building his name as a writer and professional. This is something that shall continue on into the foreseeable future, as his career grows from strength-to-strength, something that will carry on for some time yet.

Writing Career

Publishing his first book ‘Les derniers jours de nos peres’ in 2011 through the Editions de Fallois publishing label, he only sold a few hundred copies through its initial release. It wasn’t until later that he finally got noticed and became an international success, that his career finally took traction, becoming the publishing giant that he currently is today. It was his book ‘La Verite sur l’Affaire Harry Quebert’ that finally broke his name big across the whole of Europe, making him an international star almost overnight.

Gaining awards for his work, such as the Geneva Writers’ Prize in 2010 for an as yet unpublished manuscript of his that was yet to see the light of day. This helped set him up initially, not only giving him the confidence he needed, but also marking him as someone to watch within the industry as an upcoming star in his own making. The rest is still to come though, as he has plenty more books set to be released on the horizon, as it appears that he won’t be stopping anytime soon.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair

Marking his second novel, this was the first major novel that broke Joel Dicker’s name, setting him up as a serious contender upon the global literary scene. Originally published as ‘La verite sur l’affaire Harry Quebert’ in his native French tongue, it went on to be published in America on the 27th of May, 2014, with an English translation that achieved a phenomenal success. Establishing both his style and his tone, with the translation capturing all of this perfectly, it manages to create the perfect gateway into the world of Joel Dicker as an author.

Set in a coastal town within the area of New Hampshire, although the town is called Somerset in the English translation and Aurora in its original, it takes place in America. Evoking the area well, it manages to capture a sense of its environment, perfectly reflecting the characters contained within, allowing them to flourish. The lead protagonist here is called Marcus Goldman and he’s a successful young and upcoming novelist who is desperately searching for inspiration for his next novel, in the hope that a big idea will hit. That’s when he comes into contact with his old college professor Harry Quebert who he goes to stay with, in the hope that he will be able to focus more upon his writing. Soon though tragedy hits when the body of a fifteen year old girl washes up, thought to be dead and missing 33 years ago, leading the Harry Quebert being implicated in her death and Goldman being given the subject of his new novel. Who is the girl and why did she go missing all those years ago? Can they find the real culprit before it’s too late? What really is the truth about the Harry Quebert affair?

The Baltimore Boys

With the rights to publication being immediately snapped up by the ‘Editions de Fallois’ publishing label in Paris, this was to mark another success for Joel Dicker as a young and successful author. As the English translation is expected on the 18th of May, 2017, through the MacLehose Press publishing house, it’s expected to achieve global succes, this time with Alison Anderson translating it. With more of his signature style and tone, this works as almost a companion piece to his Harry Quesbert novel, building upon a lot of the themes and ideas seen previously.

Desperately trying to write his third novel now, Marcus Goldman is living off the succes of his previous Harry Quebert book, something which he’s struggling to break out of the shadows of. That’s when he comes into inspiration once again, this time in the form of the singer Alexandra Neville; a former passion of his and his first love. Beset by tragedy and memories of a family broken, his chance encounter with her down in Florida sets him on a path that may just be the inspiration he so needs. Who exactly is she? What is the truth of her past? Where are the Baltimore boys?

With the latest book in the Gray Man series by Mark Greaney coming out soon, we wanted to make the very first book in the series our book of the month.

Greaney is an incredible author and if you love the "lone badass" type of books then you will LOVE the Court "Gray Man" Gentry series. Read more about it.

Featured Series

It might seem like overkill, but we're giving The Gray Man series our featured series of the month.

Honestly this is such a great series and we feel not enough people read it so we want to push it. Read more about The Gray Man series and seriously if you haven't read it - start! Amazing thrillers.

Featured Author

Mark Greaney is an incredibly talented author. Not only does he write the Gray Man series however he also writes various Jack Ryan novels. Many feel he is the best writer of them and he truly is a great author. We're happy to award our author of the month to Mark Greaney.

Did You Know…

Due to the mass controversy involving the ending to The Divergent Trilogy, author Veronica Roth had to post a large blog post, both explaining and defending the ending of the series.